The Oracle Database Product Family

Oracle Database is available in the following editions, each suitable for different development and deployment scenarios. Oracle also offers several database options, packs, and other products that enhance the capabilities of Oracle Database for specific purposes. This section describes the Oracle Database editions. The database options and associated products are described in Chapter 2, "Options and Packs".

Oracle Database Enterprise EditionOracle Database Enterprise Edition provides the performance, availability, scalability, and security required for mission-critical applications such as high-volume online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, query-intensive data warehouses, and demanding Internet applications. Oracle Database Enterprise Edition contains all of the components of Oracle Database, and can be further enhanced with the purchase of the options and packs described in Chapter 2, "Options and Packs".

Oracle Database Express Edition Oracle Database Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) is an entry-level edition of Oracle Database that is quick to download, simple to install and manage, and is free to develop, deploy, and distribute. Oracle Database XE makes it easy to upgrade to the other editions of Oracle without costly and complex migrations. Oracle Database XE can be installed on any size machine with any number of CPUs, stores up to 11 GB of user data, using up to 1 GB of memory, and using only one CPU on the host machine. Support is provided by an online forum. The current version of Oracle Database XE is Oracle Database 11g Release 2.

Oracle Database Personal EditionOracle Database Personal Edition supports single-user development and deployment environments that require full compatibility with Oracle Database Standard Edition One, Oracle Database Standard Edition, and Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. Personal Edition includes all of the components that are included with Enterprise Edition, as well as all of the options that are available with Enterprise Edition, with the exception of the Oracle Real Application Clusters option, which cannot be used with Personal Edition. Personal Edition is available on Windows and Linux platforms only. The Management Packs are not included in Personal Edition.

Feature Availability by Edition

Table 1-1 lists feature availability for Oracle Database Standard Edition One (SE1), Standard Edition (SE), Standard Edition 2 (SE2), and Enterprise Edition (EE). The Y value in a column means that the feature is available in the specified release; N means that it is unavailable. This table can help you understand the difference between the editions and determine whether you require Enterprise Edition (or Personal Edition for a single-user environment).

Note that Oracle Database XE is a separate product from the rest of the Oracle Database product family. The features available with Oracle Database XE are documented in Oracle Database Express Edition Licensing Information, which is installed along with the product itself. The current version of Oracle Database XE is Oracle Database 11g Release 2.

CPU resource management is available on all platforms; I/O resource management requires Exadata or Supercluster storage

Instance Caging

N

See Notes

Y

Included with SE2 and EE

Not included with SE1 and SE

SQL Plan Management

N

N

Y

SQL Tuning Sets

N

N

Y

SQL Tuning Sets can also be accessed by way of database server APIs and command-line interfaces. The following subprograms, part of the DBMS_SQLTUNE package, provide an interface to manage SQL Tuning Sets and are part of Oracle Database Enterprise Edition: ADD_SQLSET_REFERENCE, CAPTURE_CURSOR_CACHE_SQLSET, CREATE_SQLSET, CREATE_STGTAB_SQLSET, DELETE_SQLSET, DROP_SQLSET, LOAD_SQLSET, PACK_STGTAB_SQLSET, REMOVE_SQLSET_REFERENCE, SELECT_CURSOR_CACHE, SELECT_SQLSET, SELECT_WORKLOAD_REPOSITORY, UNPACK_STGTAB_SQLSET, UPDATE_SQLSET.

A separate single instance Oracle Database can be installed and used as an infrastructure repository for RMAN, Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) Warehouse, Global Data Services Catalog, and Grid Infrastructure Management Repository without additional license requirements, provided that all the targets are correctly licensed. It may not be used or deployed for other uses.

The infrastructure repositories for RMAN, Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, AWR Warehouse, and Global Data Services Catalog can be shared in one database, or deployed in separate databases. Enterprise Edition must be used for the infrastructure repository database(s).

If Oracle RAC is used for the infrastructure database, then Oracle RAC licenses for all servers, and Enterprise Edition licenses for all but the first server, are required.

If Data Guard is used for the infrastructure database, then an Enterprise Edition license for the standby server is required.

Data Guard Far Sync

The far sync instance can be installed and used on a server different from the server where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the server running the far sync instance.

Global Data Services

The GSM listener can be installed and used on a server different from the server where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the server running the GSM listener.

Oracle Advanced Security and Enterprise User Security

If you wish to use Enterprise User Security in Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, you no longer need to license the Oracle Advanced Security Option for Kerberos and PKI based authentication. It does require a corresponding Oracle Identity Management Directory Services Plus to be licensed.

Any Oracle Advanced Security licenses purchased on or before January 31, 2004, have restricted use of the Oracle Internet Directory (OID) component of Oracle Directory Services Plus to support enterprise user security.

Oracle ASM Cluster File System (Oracle ACFS)

Refer to following table for the license requirements that apply to the Oracle ACFS features:

Oracle ACFS Features

Oracle Database Files

Non-Oracle Database Files

All Oracle ACFS features other than those listed below

Free

Free

ACFS Snapshot

Requires Oracle Database Enterprise Edition*

Free

ACFS Encryption

Not available (use Oracle Transparent Data Encryption, part of the Oracle Advanced Security option*)

Free

ACFS Security

Not available (use Oracle Database Vault*)

Free

ACFS Replication

Not available (use Oracle Data Guard*)

Free

ACFS Auditing

Not available (use Oracle Audit Vault*)

Free

ACFS Tagging

Free

Free

Oracle will provide support services for Oracle ACFS only if the server it operates on also operates an Oracle product, which may include Oracle Linux or Oracle Solaris, which is under an Oracle support contract.

* Requires appropriate full-use licenses to these products or components.

Oracle Clusterware

Oracle Clusterware provides cluster membership and high availability monitoring and failover. Oracle Clusterware may be used to protect any application (restarting or failing over the application in the event of a failure) on any server, free of charge. Oracle will provide support for Clusterware only if the server is running an Oracle product, which may include Oracle Linux or Oracle Solaris, that is also under Oracle support.

Oracle Connection Manager

Oracle Connection Manager can be installed and used on a machine different from the machine where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the machine running Oracle Connection Manager.

Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service

Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service includes use of the following two features from the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option at no additional cost:

RMAN backup encryption

All RMAN backup compression algorithms

To use additional features of the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option, you must license those options separately. In addition, the Oracle Advanced Security Option must be separately licensed when performing RMAN encrypted backups directly to disk.

Oracle Database Express Edition

Oracle Database Express Edition may be used for free, for the purposes of developing, prototyping and running applications. It can also be used for free to provide demonstrations and training. It may also be distributed for free with any applications. However, any use of the Oracle Database Express Edition is subject to the following limitations:

Express Edition is limited to a single instance on any server.

Express Edition may be installed on a multiple CPU server, but may only be executed on one processor in any server.

Express Edition may be used only to support up to 11 GB of user data (not including Express Edition system data).

Express Edition may use up to 1 GB RAM of available memory.

The Oracle technical support organization will not provide technical support, phone support, or updates for Oracle Database Express Edition.

Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC

Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC can be installed and used on a machine different from the machine where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the machine running Oracle Gateway for ODBC.

Oracle Database Provider for DRDA

Oracle Database Provider for DRDA can be installed and used on a machine different from the machine where the Oracle Database is installed and used. It is not necessary to obtain a separate license for the machine running Oracle Database Provider for DRDA.

ASM Cluster File System (ACFS) or a local OS file system must be used to store all non-database files. No Oracle-maintained copies of any non-database files can exist in any other locations, with the following exceptions:

Customers who want to manually script maintenance of a standby database can create a second copy of their archive logs outside of Oracle ASM on a local file system only, designated by the LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n parameter.

RMAN backups of files can reside on either a local or network mounted file system.

No other cluster software can be installed on the system, including OCFS, OCFS2, third-party clusterware, third-party cluster volume managers, and third-party cluster file systems.

The Oracle Secure Backup special-use licenses apply to RMAN backup encryption, which is a component of the Oracle Advanced Security Option, and RMAN backup compression levels, which are components of the Oracle Advanced Compression Option. To use additional features of the Oracle Advanced Security Option or the Oracle Advanced Compression Option, you must license those options separately. In addition, the Oracle Advanced Security Option must be licensed when performing RMAN encrypted backups directly to disk whether or not Oracle Secure Backup is the media manager.

Oracle Secure Backup Express

Oracle Secure Backup Express is bundled with the Oracle Database. Support for Oracle Secure Backup Express is provided exclusively through a free Oracle Discussion Forum monitored by Oracle employees as well as community experts.

Oracle Secure Backup Express can back up an Oracle database as well as Oracle home files and other file system data requiring tape protection.

An Oracle Wallet is a PKCS#12 container used to store authentication and encryption keys. The Oracle database secure external password store feature stores passwords in an Oracle Wallet for password-based authentication to the Oracle database. The Oracle Wallet may also be used to store credentials for PKI authentication to the Oracle Database, configuration of network encryption (SSL/TLS), and Oracle Advanced Security transparent data encryption (TDE) master encryption keys. Strong authentication services (Kerberos, PKI, and RADIUS) and network encryption (native network encryption and SSL/TLS) are no longer part of Oracle Advanced Security and are available in all licensed editions of all supported releases of the Oracle database.

Support of Real Application Testing in Earlier Releases

The full functionality of Oracle Real Application Testing is available only on Oracle Database 11g Release 1 or higher. Partial functionality of Oracle Real Application Testing is available to customers wishing to upgrade from Oracle9i Database Release 2 or Oracle Database 10g.

The functionality available on Oracle9i Database Release 2 is as follows:

Database Replay: Only the Workload Capture feature is supported, and the captured workload may only be replayed only on Oracle Database 11g. This feature can be used only to facilitate upgrades from Oracle 9i Database Release 2 to Oracle Database 11g or higher.

The functionality available on Oracle Database 10g Release 2 is as follows:

Database Replay: Only the Workload Capture feature is supported, and the captured workload may be replayed only on Oracle Database 11g. This feature can be used only to facilitate upgrades from Oracle Database 10g Release 2 to Oracle Database 11g.

XStream provides application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable client applications to receive real-time data changes from an Oracle database (using XStream Out APIs) and to send real-time data changes to an Oracle database (using XStream In APIs). These data changes can be shared between Oracle databases and other systems, such as filesystems and non-Oracle databases. XStream is licensed via the Oracle GoldenGate product. You must purchase a license for this product before using the XStream APIs. Please contact your Oracle sales representative for additional information.

Restricted-Use Licensing

The following restricted-use licenses are included with Oracle Database 12c in the editions indicated:

A restricted-use license for Oracle Identity Management Directory Services Plus component Oracle Internet Directory (OID) is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition) if users use the Directory Naming feature to configure Oracle Net Services. OID may not be used or deployed for other uses.

A restricted-use license for Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE (OC4J) is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition). This embedded version is provided solely to support Oracle Enterprise Manager (Database and Cloud Control), Advanced Queuing Servlet, Ultra Search, Application Express, and Warehouse Builder, and may not be used or deployed for other purposes.

A restricted-use license for Oracle HTTP Server is included with all editions (except for Oracle Database Express Edition) when the HTTP Server is running on the same server as the database. Running Oracle HTTP server on a different server requires that other server be licensed to use the HTTP server, either through an Oracle Database license or an Oracle Application Server license.

Restricted-use licenses of Load Testing Accelerator for Oracle Database, Oracle Load Testing, and Oracle Load Testing Controller are included with Oracle Real Application Testing for use for Oracle Database testing and may not be used for application testing.

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